The “Art” in Martial Art

Blog Article/Post Caveat (Read First Please: Click the Link)

As I was practicing today a “Oh crap moment” occurred, it came right smack dab in the middle of an intense practice of a method or methodology with visualization. It finally occurred to me the true meaning of the term art used in martial arts. 

To apply a martial art for combat, fighting, defense/offense and sport you have to acquire, develop and increase your ability to apply the discipline using patterns randomly and appropriately in a rapid changing dynamic way to surprise and dominate your adversary. The uniqueness of each moment and situation often from the chaos of the unknown you have to traverse the OODA in a manner that is artistic in nature. It is the creative process of applying a discipline in a manner that assures winning, attaining the goals of defense/offense in a dangerous and often deadly encounter. 

It cannot be done by memorizing set patterned combinations of techniques often specific in application but a dynamic creative application of principles and methodologies synthesized on the fly under duress, the adrenal chemical dump with its effects while remaining within the self-defense square and while limiting the bodily harm and possible death. 

Look at it like the sculpture who looks upon a large chunk of marble then who chips away at it seemingly random and without intent or purpose to expose the art hidden within the chunk of marble. Every situation, like every chunk of marble, will have some unique, different and new hidden art that when chipped at with chisel and hammer, the principles and methodologies of defense/offense, to expose that one of a kind and unique piece of art underneath. 

In defense/offense you create from practice and training a scheme that changes constantly to the moment and situation by pulling things apart (analysis) and them putting them back together again (synthesis) in new combinations of seemingly unrelated actions and ideas that are related to one another in finding how they would work in real-time, that is art and the artistic endeavor and discipline. It is about acquiring knowledge and understanding from experience, training and practice both direct and indirect to create a piece of art, an art piece that gets the job done. 

It takes insight, it takes imagination and it takes initiative to learn, comprehend, shape, discover, innovate, relearn and adapt to each unique and often changing moment for each situation much like seeing the art in a chunk of stone and then bringing that piece of art out and expose it to the light. When you use the term art in martial art, you apply this belief and discipline of artistic creativity to the martial or the military art of war. 

Karate is also an art and even tho not derived from the art of war it is a prerequisite to those arts, weapons, that are used in war. It is therefore a new concept to accept that arts be they martial or karate or even others from other cultures, etc., they all fall under being an art! 

Understand, the way to reach such concepts with accuracy and validation means to take ideas and theories and explore them, discover as much about them as you can. To think, comprehend and adapt them to the possibilities through the connections discovered from study that are insightful, full of your imaginations and derived from your initiative to think out side the box so you can shape them, learn from them, do them, achieve goals by their use and adopt them to your discipline, this is art at its very best. 

Bibliography (Click the link)

p.s. “Analysis and Synthesis (artistic endeavors) is thinking that consists of pulling ideas apart (analysis) and while intuitively looking for connections that form a more general elaboration (synthesis) of what is taking place. The process not only creates the discourse but also represents the key to evolve the tactics, strategies, goals, and unifying themes that permit us to shape and adapt to the world around us.” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF Deceased

Click for larger view.

“We will use this scheme of pulling things apart (analysis) and putting them back again (synthesis) in new combinations to find how apparently unrelated ideas and actions can be related to one another.”  - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF Deceased